Tips for App Store Optimization

Development of Information technology and constant innovation in the fields of hardware, software, and networking has pushed the limits of how the IT ecosystem can integrate with our social and personal lives.

If we look back a decade ago, managing our daily chores with the help of apps did not sound possible; it’s actually fascinating how this has become a steady part of our lives.

APP STORE OPTIMIZATION

This trend has created a well organized B2C system of App development entities and App users.

App development has become a viable opportunity for a business with steady cash flows and the huge scope of expansion. Developers face many challenges in this business, such as need of constant innovation, exploration of consumer needs, advertising, software developing and facing fierce competition; one of the major hurdles are “app store optimization”. This term signifies the activities taken up by developer entities in order to make their app more preferable and easy to find on the App store/Play store.

It’s a way of ensuring that your app meets app store ranking criteria and rises to the top of your search results page.

UNDERSTAND YOUR MARKET

How well are you aware of your consumers and the competition? The basic variables in ASO are to cater to the needs of the app users, the first step lies in identifying and assessing the user needs and delivering a refined software that can provide the desired user experience. Try to know which language do they generally use, how would they describe the app, what keywords they would target to search for it, should you target the obvious keywords or the less obvious keywords that would uniquely define the app, etc. Your strategies begin with putting yourself in the place of your consumer and identifying these optimal answers.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT NAME

Deciding on the name of the app is crucial, it must be easy to remember, suggestive of the app’s purpose. App store provides a maximum of 255 characters, allowing plenty of keywords or keyword phrases. It is also important to use only URL friendly characters in your app title. Also, keep in mind that special characters or numbers will detract from you ASO strategy and cause iTunes to refer to your app’s numeric ID, rather than the keywords

COMPELLING DESCRIPTION TO YOUR APP

Next is how you give the description of the app. It serves many purposes, it should compel the user and make believe that the app is going to be suitable for the desired requirement; it also helps the app to place itself on the top order in search engines. While typing in the keywords, the users usually type in phrases which relate to their requirement, the app’s name and its description should contain words and phrases which are easily picked up by the search engines.Digital Marketing firms highly recommend you to put your bulk energies in the first three lines of the description to immediately grab your reader’s attention.

CATCHY APP ICON

Other factors which make the App desirable are; creating a catchy App icon, including videos and snapshots of the App’s UI. These features enable the users to better assess the usability of the App right off before they need to download it. As your potential consumers browse through an endless list of apps, your visual icon is the first impression they will have of yours. Make sure it counts.

Also, to your information, when approaching the icon design, keep in mind that App store and Google Play vary in their approach and rendering of App icons.

INCREASE TRAFFIC WITH ONLINE PROMOTION

Apart from that, good old online advertising of the app always helps, which is a part of “search engine optimization” or SEO. At the end of the day, it is important to remember that on-page optimization is just one aspect of your marketing kit. To drive traffic, simply put more diverse information about your app with social media and content, leveraging press and reviews and investing in online marketing.

ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS

Further, app developers can enhance the App’s desirability by encouraging existing users to place reviews and rate the App on the App store, which also helps the developer’s objective of making the app look lucrative to prospective users.
The Apps with higher ratings or ranks are those which keep their customers engaged and proactively solicit customer feedback to shape the app roadmap. It’s also important to keep in mind that your app store ratings just provide a short-sighted view of your customer satisfaction.

With these top tips for App Store Optimization, you’re very well on your way to rock your ASO strategy. Of course, ASO is an on-going process, thanks to ever-evolving algorithms and to the competitive nature of the app stores. A successful ASO strategy requires a keen eye, strong inclination for analytics and regular check-ins, manage this and your investment will pay off many times over.